Good Riddance

While we regret the violent murder of President Park Chung Hee of South Korea, we welcome the end of his rule, a dictatorship of the worst stripe marked by ruthless suppression of political opposition and civil rights. The end of Park's reign marks the first real chance for the liberalization of the Korean government since then-General Park seized power in the early '60s.

As a first step, we urge that the current, temporary military rulers of South Korea activate the provision in Park's 1972 constitution that established a national council of unification to select the next president. Furthermore, that constitution should be amended to curtail the executive powers that Park exploited and to expand the power of the National Assembly, now a mere rubberstamp body.

In the long run, the United States must exert its influence to effect the return of democratic rights and institutions to South Korea. In addition to the power the U.S. holds as the principle foreign military presence in Korea, it gained leverage by moving swiftly in the current crisis to preserve stability on the Korean peninsula, placing U.S. forces in a state of readiness to forestall any North Korean adventures. The U.S. must use its diplomatic and economic leverage to act as an honest broker with the current rulers of South Korea, pressing for the release of political prisoners, an end to the "thought police" role taken on by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), and the establishment of free elections as soon as possible.

President Park's government was characterized by fierce, often bloody attacks on Korean civilians. Both Korea and the United States must seize upon this opportunity to end the repression and redress the wrongs inflicted upon the South Korean people.